The Choices in Life
by SodaMyPlatypus93
Summary: Both Remus Lupin and Sirius Black have struggled through a hard childhood full of death and partental abuse in ways. Both are looking to find a new home at Hogwarts to escape the hell they have at home. Later slash Remus Lupin and Sirius Black.
1. White Chocolate Buttons

Remus Lupin was generally a kind-hearted boy who usually brought everyone else before himself

**Disclaimer. **I DO NOT own the wonderfully wizardly tale of Harry Potter. I only seek to put my charming twist on it. So Mrs. Rowling, don't get pissed at my amazing talent to think up a better gay couple than you. Oh, this means there will be a pairing in it later. Take a wild guess before the end of the chapter. There's no indication of it through out though!

_White Chocolate Buttons _

Remus Lupin was generally a kind-hearted boy who usually brought everyone else before himself. It was a quality that came naturally to him. He never wanted to see anyone argue or get hurt, especially not his parents. But sadly, he had to put up with their arguments every night, starting from the age of four. He only heard random words really, never the whole fight, and even if he did he still wouldn't know what they were talking about. He could hear his mother, Cybela Lupin who was a muggle, yelling at his father, John Lupin, about being irresponsible, how he didn't think before he did something.

He could hear her scream "DID YOU NOT THINK OF YOUR FAMILY BEFORE YOU TOOK UP THIS CASE!" and then some mumble from his father obviously trying to calm her. Then she would just yell even louder "HE'S A WEREWOLF! WHAT IF HE GETS LOOSE, HE'LL GO AFTER YOU FIRST!"

Remus tried desperately not to listen to them and concentrate on the picture book he would bring into bed, but nothing could keep his mind off of his parents screams. Sometimes he would kneel on his bed and lean against the window sill that was right above his bed. He would pray that one day their screams would stop and he could sleep at night again.

Remus often resorted to the moon for comfort. He loved how it glowed without a care of what was below it. It was like a magic filled white chocolate button in the young mind of Remus. Not the kind of magic that his father used though, no a mystic kind. One unknown to humans. It was the only peace Remus could find in his life. So he devoted his nights to casting his amber eyes on the moon while his parents raged on in the background.

"HE ESCAPED! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN HE ESCAPED?"

"He sort of, broke loose from his confinement in the lunacy ward at St. Mungo's." John tried to tell his wife. "But every Auror in the Ministry is after him. Don't worry, they'll find him before anything can go wrong."

"Didn't you tell me Greyback is one of the most DANGEROUS werewolves in the world?! Now he's loose and because you just had to deal with his confinement case first hand, he'll he after _you_ or worse_ your family_!"

The row went on like that for hours; all the while Remus was in his room praying to anyone to help him. Remus was now five and thoroughly positive that he was the cause of this year long dispute. He was even wondering if the moon had turned against him because it no longer gave him the same comfort as it did the year prior. It held more of an ominous feeling towards it. He always saw the shadows moving in the silver moonlight. Daring to pop out at him but always second guessing themselves at the last minute.

Even with the full moon out that night, the most beautiful phase of the moon in his opinion could not relieve him of his worries. He stared out at it clutching his Beatrix Potter book close to his chest as he waited for his dad to come in and read it him before he wished him goodnight.

Suddenly Remus could see one of the shadows moving again. He saw the giant furry figure whose yellow eyes burned through the moonlight. His ragged body slinked unseen by anyone else through the yard. Remus was terrified by this creature, yet transfixed on it. He would have sat there and watched all night, but his father's voice broke the concentration he had on this animal.

"Um…Cybela…Remus" John mumbled as if he just remembered about his five year-old son.

"GO! JUST GO! I don't have anything left to talk to about. Just, go to Remus before it gets too late. He's probably still up anyway."

This lapse was all that the werewolf needed. Fenrir Greyback leapt from the yard through the glass of the boy's window. He skidded on the wooden floor and growled. Without even giving Remus the chance to scream for someone the wolf attacked. He bit down hard on the young boy's shoulder. As Remus cried from the pain John Lupin ran into the room, sending a curse strait at the wolf. Greyback flew back and crashed against the wall. John ran defensively in front of his son ready for another attack.

The wolf recovered quickly and leapt out at John, tearing the skin on his chest and bashed him against the head. He staggered to get up; then he raised his broken arm holding his wand. He muttered a curse under his breath and a purple flash of light flew from the tip of his wand. It hit Greyback straight on his head, rendering him unconscious for probably days at the strength he had used for the curse.

With that, John Lupin collapsed carelessly on the floor with a soft 'thud'. Remus soon followed in suit. Almost all of the blood had been drained from him, mostly from the wound but also from shock. His head felt light and his pupils were dilated. At first glance he looked dead. But with a closer look you could see his shallow breathing.

Remus thought his body had caught on fire. Every muscle, tendon, organ, and bone felt as if they were breaking, splitting apart, and moving around. It was hell for him for the first couple minutes after being bitten. After that, everything went numb. He could barely make-out the vision of his father collapsing on the floor. When everything went utterly black he had convinced himself that this was a nightmare. Yes, he would wake up perfectly fine, with his Beatrix Potter book waiting for his dad to read it to him.

But as Remus woke up in the sterile quarters of St. Mungo's to an intense pain starting at the top of his left shoulder and went half-way down both his back and chest, he knew it was not a dream. At this realization he began to panic for his dad, unsure if he was still alive.

"No need to worry," one of the cordial nurses assured Remus as he stroked the young boy's hair "he is alive, but is hurt very badly. He will be fine soon."

"Are you sure?"

'Positive' was the answer Remus was looking for but all he got for assurance was a meek smile from the older man.

In truth, John Lupin would never heal from his injuries but only struggle to hold onto life. The damages to his head were too great and the gash on his chest was too deep. But each day he sat in the hospital ward with the slightest amount of brain power left.

Of course, Remus didn't know what who attacked him, just a werewolf. He thought it was his fault his father was like this. He also took pity on the werewolf. At that time, Remus truly thought that it had lost control and had no clue what it was doing. That he was just in the way of the wolf.

When really, there had been no fault in Fenrir Greyback's plan, except for maybe John Lupin could have died then and there.

Cybela truly did try to look after her son. They moved far into the country into a small rustic cottage. She chose that cottage because it had a large stone cellar at the bottom of the house for his transformations. She would tend to his wounds after each full moon. And she would take Remus to see his father every weekend.

But this only lasted for the first couple years. After she knew he knew how to clean up his own wounds she left him alone. She purely could not stand magic any more. She had had enough. She just wanted to escape reality, forget her dying husband, her cursed son, and every other trouble she had. So she resorted to drinking, smoking, and doing drugs.

Every mourning she would drink a bottle of bourbon, through the day she would smoke two packs of cigarettes, and then at night drink too many bottles of vodka and cognac, before she went out to only God knows where for a couple hours. And this was just the daily routine.

On most days Remus would leave the house with a slice of toast and go sit by the river bed a few miles away from the house. He never wanted to make friends; he could never trust any one really. So he sat on the dirt listening to the water pass by petting whatever random animal happens to walk by. He would only walk back to go to sleep once his mother had left. Occasionally he would visit his father, but that was only on special occasions.

One mourning, in early May, as an eleven year-old Remus searched the house for a slice of bread; there was a gentle rap at the door. His mother gave a low groan from the couch as if to say, 'Open the damn door before the knocking gives me even more of a headache."

Remus warily moved to the door, and pulled it open slightly to come face to face with a tall man wearing a ridiculously yellow muggle suit with an orange tie and a purple shirt. His long silver hair flowed down his back and in the front a long beard was there to match. The most eccentric yet fascinating thing about this man though was his silvery blue eyes, twinkling even behind his half-moon spectacles, which were carefully perched on his crooked nose. All-in-all, this man was eye-catching, in a magnificent way.

"You must be Remus Lupin, am I correct?" He asked. Remus was slightly taken aback. How did this man know who he was? Who was he? But he decided to answer the older man's question.

"Y-yes, and m-may I ask who y-you are?" he shakily answered.

"There's no need to be nervous Mr. Lupin. I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. If your mother doesn't mind, why don't we go for a walk around the country-side? I have an important matter to discuss with you." Dumbledore asked "Or we could always talk in here. Either way, I just think the scenery is nicer outside, and it smells better."

"Take him, take him." Cybela replied from the couch "I don't even know why he's still here. He's usually gone by now."

"Well then, it's settled. Come on Mr. Lupin; show me a nice spot for a nice conversation." Dumbledore was already leaving as he said this with Remus close behind.

"There's a river ahead. That's where I usually sit during the day. Um, sir, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Ah, that can wait until we get there. So, Remus, are you aware of magic. I mean, have you seen your father use it, or do you just know it existed."

"Dad used to use it around the house a lot, and he used to complain about the Ministry of Magic. And I know that he's in St. Mungo's Hospital which is magic. I'm a werewolf too, so I'm fairly used to magic."

"Good and I know you're a werewolf, that's what I came to talk to you about." Dumbledore replied in his mellow tone.

"Y-you aren't g-going to k-k-kill me are you sir." Remus of course would be extremely paranoid about this with the Ministry's prejudice against werewolves. He was horrified. His face went extremely pail at this and he stopped walking, still looking up at the headmaster though, who had stopped as well.

"No, no, no, of course not" Albus reassuringly ruffled the small boy hair and gave him a comforting smile, and they continued to walk. "I would never do that."

After walking for a while in silence they had come to the top of a hill over looking the murky river below. "Ah, I think we're here, are we not?" Remus nodded and they both sat down and Dumbledore continued his talk.

"What I wanted to ask you is, if you would like to start school next year at Hogwarts? We normally send letters to perspective students, but in your case we have to take in the precautions of your lycanthropy."

Remus was in awe, he had never expected this offer in his whole lifetime. It was amazing. He immediately accepted the headmaster's offer.

"But how will people be safe when I transform every month, and I'd miss a lot of school?" Remus asked.

"Simple really, there is a Shrieking Shack not too far from the school. You will go there for your transformations, and to prevent you from escaping or a student wandering in a Whomping Willow will be planted at the entrance to the tunnel to get to the Shack.

"A Whomping Willow?"

"It's a giant tree whose' limbs are able to move unless a stub at the base of the tree is tapped. The limbs could injure or kill anyone who gets near, so that's a good precaution for children to keep away from it.

"Our school nurse, Poppy Pomfrey will walk you over the night of the full moon and cure your wounds the next mourning. You will stay in the hospital wing until your well enough to go back to school. In return, all you have to do is do well in school and make sure no one knows your secret."

"But how will I explain to someone my monthly disappearances if someone asks? It is strange to see someone leave school so often with no good excuse?" Remus asked, trying to find some flaw in the old man's plan.

"Ah, you will just simply tell them you are going home to visit your ill father. That's not far from the truth anyway."

"Oh," Remus was looking at his shoes tentatively, wondering if this was a good idea "I accept then."

"Pardon," Dumbledore said coming out of a slight daze from looking over at the river.

"I accept you're offer, I'll go. Everything seems safe I guess. I want to go to school anyway." Remus looked up at Dumbledore and gave him a whimsical smile.

"Wonderful, school starts on the 1st of September. Here's your list for school supplies." He rummaged through an inside pocket of his yellow jacket and fished out a letter. He handed it to Remus and continued "You can find everything you need in Diagon Alley, but I'm sure you know not how to get there. Oh bother. I'll send our gamekeeper, Hagrid to take you there.

"You should also know that the train is stationed at King's Cross Station. It will leave from Platform 9 and ¾ at exactly 11 o' clock. So I advise you to be on time or it might very well leave without you."

"Platform 9 and ¾ at King's Cross? There isn't a Platform 9_ and_ _¾'s _there, do they?" Remus lifted a tawny eyebrow to this question.

Dumbledore nodded slightly then spoke "There is but it is hidden to muggles so you may not have noticed it before.

"Anyway, is there anything else I can do for you before I see you again in September?"

"Um, no, nothing really" Remus was still trying to take all of this in. He knew of magic and knew that his father was a wizard, but he never thought that he would be a wizard too. Much less that they would accept him at Hogwarts. Then it hit him. Something he did want was to see his father. His mother had been far too drunk to take him to the hospital in the last couple years and he just didn't know his way there. So he asked the older wizard.

"Oh, yes I'm sure he would be glad to hear of this news. Hmm, why doesn't Hagrid take you when he picks you up to take you Diagon Alley? That sounds good, doesn't it?" Remus nodded at looked up at Dumbledore, agreeing to his plan.

"Well then, I must be off. School is running and I have a meeting to attend. I'll inform Hagrid as soon as I arrive though." Dumbledore stood up from the dry grass and Remus followed in suit. They bade goodbye and the older wizard vanished, leaving the little werewolf the muse over the events changing in his life.

When Hagrid did come to fetch Remus to take him to Diagon Alley late in July, Remus had to admit he was close to a heart attack. The headmaster had forgotten to mention the slight factor that the gamekeeper was a giant: an eight foot tall one at that with a humongous bushy black beard.

"C'mon, is a'right, I won't bite" the giant reassured Remus a few times. Remus gathered up all of his courage and moved out towards Hagrid. With that they left making their voyage toward Diagon Alley. Primary source of transportation was the Knight Bus. Of course it was a bit cramped with a giant in there, but it being a magical bus they could always make more room.

When they got off the bus, they went through a dingy pub and then through a brick arch in the back. As he moved through with Hagrid close behind him he stared in awe at the magic going on around him. He would have stood there staring all day if it weren't for Hagrid.

"So, where'd ya need to go first?" Hagrid ask looking all the way at the small eleven year-old.

With Remus's trance broken he stated that he needed to exchange his muggle money for the wizarding currency first, then he would commence with buying his school supplies.

About an hour of shopping later Remus had bought all of his text books, a cauldron, quills and ink wells, parchment, school uniform, a wand, and a bottomless pit of a trunk to carry everything to fit in.

The last thing he wanted to purchase was a pet. He was never allowed one when he was younger, but now was an acceptation to him. As Hagrid waited outside Remus searched though the pet store. He saw odd birds magically changing colours, shapes, or species, in cages that would float past you. He saw giant slimy frogs that were neon green and blue in containers set on trays that would too float around. The owls there were all in cages hanging from the ceiling making annoying swaking noises and in Remus's opinion far too loud to keep as a pet. He saw the rats but thought they would be too easy to loose. Then he saw the cats on a non-moving table in the middle of the small store. He looked into the cages seeing cats of all different sizes, ages, and colours. Remus then eyed a tiny kitten that had to be much smaller than his palm. The kitten was dark grey and fluffy with odd grey eyes. He reached into the cage and surprisingly the tiny animal leaned its head against his hand. Most animals could sense that he too was part animal and were usually frightened of him, but not this kitten. He opened his palm and the kitten climbed into it. He bought his new kitten and walked out to meet the giant.

"So, wotcha get?" Hagrid asked as Remus came out.

"A kitten," Remus pronounced holding up the grey puffball with pride.

"What's his name?"

"It's a she, um," Remus looked down at the kitten "I think I'll call her Moppet, how's that?"

"Why'd ya call it that, it sounds familiar in some way?"

"'Cause in the Beatrix Potter books I used to read there was a kitten called Moppet. There were other cats but I never liked the name Benjamin and Tom, plus they're male."

"Oh, I remember reading her books. She's a muggle author right?"

"Yup,"

"I liked her books when I was little."

"Me too, I always read them before I went to sleep."

From there the conversation ended and they traveled in silence accept for the occasional meow from Moppet on Remus's shoulder. They traveled out of Diagon Alley and to St. Mungo's as promised by Dumbledore.

Once they arrived Hagrid waited outside, mainly for Remus's privacy but also because he thought it would by hard to fit a giant in there without knocking something over. So Remus made the journey to his father's ward only with the company of a nurse (Moppet had not been allowed in because of sanitary reasons).

The nurse brought him up through the unnaturally sterile and white corridors to a white door just like all of the others. The nurse opened the door for Remus but didn't come in with him. The door shut behind Remus and he continued his walk to his father's bed.

Remus looked down at his dad seeing his gaunt face, gray balding hair, and the slight grey stubble around his jaw line. He just stood there for a few minutes when he chose to speak up.

"Dad, are you awake?" There was a slight groan from the bed and brown eyes met Remus's amber ones.

"R-R-Remus, 's that you?" John said uncertainly as tired eyes tried to focus on his son.

"Yeah Dad, it's me," Remus said with slightly more sadness than he wanted to. He saw all the wires and tubes hooked up to his dad. With only that he knew John Lupin was on his last legs, if that. He looked more like a corpse than a human, and his breathing was more shallow than Remus would have liked it to be. "I just came to check up on you and to tell you something."

"Really…what…is…it?" John asked pausing between words to catch his barely existent breath.

"I'm allowed to start at Hogwarts starting in September. Everything's set up perfectly for my transformations, and I just went shopping for my school supplies. Isn't it great?" Remus tried not to let his dad on to the worry he had for him or the sorrow, but it wasn't quite working.

"That's great," John wheezed out barely audibly "J-just…m-m-make…s-sure no one…finds…out, okay."

"Y-yeah Dad, I wouldn't let anyone know." And with that last look into his son's eyes John Lupin passed away slowed, not even trying to bother to breathe.

"Dad? Dad. DAD! Wake up Dad." Remus screamed sounded much younger than he really was. He fell into a panic looking at the now peaceful body of his father, and he broke down crying.

Remus sat there for awhile not forgetting about Hagrid though. A nurse finally coaxed him to leave his father's body. Remus plaintively agreed with the young woman and left to go back to Hagrid.

The giant asked no question for he had already been informed about what happed. He just handed Remus back Moppet who went back to sleeping on his shoulder, and they left.

When Remus returned home he thanked Hagrid for everything and took off to his room. He threw his trunk that contained all of his school supplies into the corner and crawled onto his bed lying on his back. Moppet was sitting on his chest cleaning her over sized paws which she'll have to grow into (yes cats grow into both their paws and their ears). He could hear the drunken woes of insanity from his mother downstairs.

He needed to escape. Escaped from this hellhole, and he knew the opportunity would come on the 1st September.

**And now for a note from the wonderful author.** Hey every one of you who reads this but thinks it is cow manure, but I would like to address those who actually like it. Okay, so this is my first HP story, and if you haven't guessed it the pairing will be Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. Best slash pairing in the history of history. Seriously (no pun intended). Anyway, I know I made Remus have a terrible life, but you get to hear Sirius's life story next. There might be some humour in that. So, I say unto you in the words of my fore-fanfiction authors… DON'T BE LAZY! LEAVE ME A COMMENT. Please (see, I have manners).

Next chapter will be out soon. I promise.


	2. The Singing Heads of the Black Household

**Disclaimer. **I DO NOT own the wonderfully wizardly tale of Harry Potter. I only seek to put my charming twist on it. So Mrs. Rowling, don't get pissed at my amazing talent to think up a better gay couple than you. Oh, this means there will be a pairing in it later. A lovely Remus Lupin and Sirius Black one. Doesn't that sound yummy!

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_The Singing Heads of the Black Household_

Sirius Black was well known as the future heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. To think that he behaved as mature at home as he did in public though would have been a fallacy. You see, Sirius hated his family with a passion. All of their pureblood mania would drive him crazy. He never had any friends because he was not allowed to consult with anyone that was muggle born. This narrowed him down to almost all of his relatives, and even then he wasn't allowed to see some of his relatives. Sirius was not only not allowed to talk to muggle born witches and wizards, but he was not allowed to talk to blood traitors as well. This meant that any family member who disobeyed the "requirements" of being in the Black Family were disowned and never spoken of again. The only family members he was actually friends with were Andromeda Black, his cousin, and Alphard Black, his uncle.

Sirius was not one to act mature and sensible. He let his mischievous and rebellious nature lead him through life. This obviously did not leave him mother too happy.

Walburga Black was not a one to express happiness to her sons, or anyone in for that matter. But she especially despised her eldest son, whom she showed no tolerance for. She may have spoiled him crazy but that didn't mean she had to be kind to him. Every time he stepped out of line he was locked up in the attic or down in the cellar. Both were equally dark and musty for there was no source of light and no way to let light into them.

Although Sirius knew his punishment before hand he would still pull pranks on his family, especially when his _loving_ cousins Bellatrix and Narcissa came to visit. Andromeda, there sister, would obviously come along with them but he got on just fine with her and loved that her boyfriend was a muggle. It just outraged everyone in the family when they found out, but she didn't care. That's what Sirius loved about her; she was his idol in a way, along with his uncle Alphard.

So just to see the horrified faces of his family he would continue to wreak havoc on the Household of Black. He would continue putting colour changing dye in the shampoo is cousins used. He would continue to release garden gnomes through the house when Aunts and Uncles visited. He would continue to switch his father's hair growth potion with his mother's hair removal one she used on her legs. It was just who he was.

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It was a snowy Christmas and Walburga Black would not allow either of her sons to play outside in the snow with the muggle children. So Sirius and Regulus were forced into boredom while staring Sirius's bedroom window at the powdery white snow outside. They watched the other children making snowmen and having snowball fights in the streets; then running out of the road when a car came.

Both Sirius and Regulus knew that they were muggles, but neither could understand why they couldn't play with them. They were all around the same age and neither of them would use magic in front of the other children. They knew that was against the rules and would expose the existence of wizards to muggles. Although children may not understand and would think that they were just weird. The brothers were used to being called weird. They may not be able to play with the muggle children but they could still hear them. They would talk about the two children they sometimes saw in front of one of the houses, and then all of a sudden they would disappear into a house. They would make up stories about there being a monster keeping them captive in that house and only let them out when they needed air. Really, that wasn't far from the truth.

Still, Sirius was angry at his mother for keeping him locked up like this. Just because he was a wizard didn't mean he couldn't talk to muggles his own age. They seemed descent and much more fun then his family would ever be. So he began to plot his revenge.

"Reg, we need to do something," Sirius started moving over to his bed, cross his legs as he sat down, and screwed up his face to make it look like he was deep in thought.

"Do what to who, Sirius?" Regulus asked sitting on the floor next to Sirius's bed looking up at his older brother.

"Mum of course, or at least something to upset her!" The eight year-old responded looking down at his seven year-old brother.

"We can't to anything to mummy; we'll get locked in the cellar, or worse, the attic!" It was common knowledge to the Black brothers that being thrown in the cellar was bad mainly because it was dark and rats ran around there, but being thrown in the attic was worse by miles. The attic had no hard floors to walk on, just beams to support you, because if you walked anywhere but a beam you would fall through the plaster into whatever room was beneath you. The attic, although being just as dark as the cellar, was much larger leaving more room for things that crawled in the dark, like the spiders Mrs. Black put there on purpose. These spiders were special ones; they would grow to the size of the room they were placed in. So the attic had spiders the size of small dogs crawling around it. There was also the ghost of a Black who had decided to reside up there.

"I don't care about the punishment, and I'm not asking you to help me! I just want you to listen to my plan, or at least help me get what I need."

"Oh alright, what do you need me to get?" Regulus asked his brother in defeat knowing he would just end up helping in the end.

"Ok, we'll need loads of green and red paint, paintbrushes, different coloured baubles, those singing Santa hats mum keeps to annoy us, a huge tub of soap bubbles, and tinsel. I think that's about it." Sirius ended giving Regulus a smirk as they set out to get their supplies.

"I got the paint Sirius along with some of the tinsel and some baubles." Regulus told Sirius placing the items into the pile.

"I got the paintbrushes, some more baubles and paint, and the hats." Sirius too placed the items into the pile then continued. "All we need now are the bubbles, and those, my dear brother are vital."

"Of course they are," Regulus rolled his eyes and put on his early developed Black sense of sarcasm.

"They are dear brother, do you not believe me?" Sirius acted shocked and pretended to gasp at Regulus.

"Of _course_ I believe you brother." Regulus put on the sarcasm again.

"Good, now we should go get those bubbles," Sirius grinned, got up, and walked out of the room heading towards the bathroom, with Regulus close behind him.

There, Sirius filled up a giant basin of soap bubbles making sure there was no water included. Many of the portraits had caught him as he walked back to his room with the mountain of bubbles; even some of the house elves had caught him, but no one dared to say a thing.

"Ok Reg, this is where you can just sit back and watch, unless you changed your mind and want to help." Regulus shook his head and Sirius looked partly sad, as if he wanted Regulus to help. He wanted a partner in crime, someone to help him with his plan.

"Alright," Sirius said trying not to look hurt "I'm going to start now." He picked up the paints, paintbrushes, hats, and tinsel and walked downstairs with a new spirit of mischievous burning inside.

Sirius placed all of his supplies in front of the heads of the deceased elves who got the honour of their heads being hung on the wall after they died. Sirius ran into the kitchen, grabbed the stepping stool, and went back to the elf heads. He picked up the green paint with a brush, stepped up onto the stool and began to deface the disturbing faces of the dead elves. After they were all coloured in green, Sirius switched and started using the red paint, drawing all over them. When he was all done painting Sirius wrapped them in tinsel making sure not to use it all, and then placed a hat on each of the heads. He stepped down from the stool and marveled in his progress, but of course he wasn't done yet.

Sirius focused and gathered all of the magic he thought he had in him and thought of what he wanted to do. It took a minute but eventually he heard the same songs that the hat was playing, such as "God Rest Ye, Merry Hippogriffs" and "Rupert the Green Nosed Pixie", sung out of key by the elf heads. Sirius was proud but not done. He decided to paint all of the other portraits first and then turned his attention to the soap.

He began to spray it every where as if snow were falling, the left of tinsel was shredded up and included in this mix. When the whole hallway was covered in soap and tinsel Sirius wrote across the walls "I want real snow".

Walburga soon heard the racket of the singing elf heads and she trudged down the stairs. As I said earlier, Walburga had an easy temper to aggravate. The slightest things would set her off ranting. Words cannot express how angry she was, only that her pale face had turned a dark red out of anger, and this colour showed through her make-up. Then she started screaming.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK, HOW DARE YOU DEFACE THE HALLWAY LIKE THIS! YOU ARE DISGRACE TO HOUSE OF BLACK!" She finished her way down the stairs and grabbed Sirius and shoved him up against the wall. She bent down to his eye level and started talking only in more of an angry whisper now. "How dare you, you spoiled brat. You don't deserve anything. That's why I shall ban anyone from leaving inheritance money to you. You better be lucky your father's and my money and house was put in your name from your birth and cannot be changed, or we would take that away from you as well. Anyone who leaves you money will be burned off of the tapestry. I'm thoroughly sick of your insubordination you brat."

With that she grabbed him by the back of his collar and dragged him into the kitchen, not caring whether she was chocking him. "KREACHER, come here this instant!"

Kreacher, the house elf walked into the room wearing his rags and bowing his head at Mrs. Black and spoke. "You called for me mistress?" The highly loyal elf glanced up at her.

"Yes, I want you to punish this boy with the most _painful_ punishment you can think of, and then lock him in the attic for a few days." With that she tossed her eight year-old son at the elf. Sirius stumbled and regained his step before crashing into Kreacher. That wasn't needed though. Kreacher bound Sirius with his magic and tossed against the kitchen wall, binding his hands and ankles magically together so he couldn't move.

His chest was against the wall and back facing the elf. Sirius looked back and saw Kreacher with a malevolent grin spread across his face. All of a sudden Sirius felt whips against his back. They were invisible and left no mark but were still just as painful as real ones. Plus, whenever he tried to scream an invisible tug came at his throat, chocking him.

Soon Sirius' knees gave away and he collapsed, but the torture didn't stop. No, Kreacher continued with the same sardonic look on his face.

It felt like ages before Kreacher stopped, and even when he did Sirius still seemed to deserve to be punished so he was dragged along the floor, up the stairs, to the ladder that led to the attic.

There, Kreacher opened up the door on the ceiling and made Sirius climb up the ladder to his room for the next couple days. Once Sirius was in the room, the door slammed closed and was bolted so he couldn't escape. The room went pitch black and Sirius could hear the spiders and ghost. This is why his secret fear was of the dark. He couldn't stand it. It made him paranoid, always thinking of ghosts, dog sized spiders, and rats all scurrying around him.

Sirius carefully balanced on the rafters supporting the room, being careful so as not to fall through the plaster in between. He soon found a box bigger than himself to sleep in to ensure that he doesn't fall. He curled up inside and closed his eyes not noticing the difference in colour.

As he heard the spiders crawl past him and the ghost whine a few times, he thought about the couple days he'd have to spend up here. Then thought of the look on his mother's face and thought of the work the elves would have taking off that magic resistant paint he coloured the walls with. Just at those thoughts he fell asleep with a smirk on his face loving everything he had done.

* * *

It had been four days up in captivity for Sirius Black when a stream of light came in through the door. The disgusting head of Kreacher popped up giving Sirius a slight fright.

"The mistress wishes for me to take you down with one final beating, and then she wishes to speak with you."

Sirius didn't know whether to be joyous or scared. He knew he should have been happy for being let free from the dark prison of an attic. But then there was the beating he had to worry about, and the talk with his mother wasn't going to be all that pleasant either.

Escape was more important to Sirius though so he slowly jumped across the beams to the door and climbed down the ladder. When he was able to stand on stable ground again his back was forced against the wall and Kreacher faced him.

It wasn't whips that hit him this time. No, they were fists that were sharp and strong. The blows felt as though they were breaking his bones, but none even broke the skin. Not even a bruise was on his pale skin when Kreacher was through with the beating.

He was then forced down to the living room where he saw his mother waiting for him. He sat down on one of the coaches facing her, terrified of what she might say.

"Sirius," she spoke in a slightly kinder voice than he expected although it was still sharp "I let you out of your punishment early because we will be heading over to visit your Uncle Alphard. As you may or may not know he has come down with hypothermia last week while he was up in the mountains skiing; Alphard was always known to have a weak heart. It was never something that could be cured so doctors plan on him dying soon. I thought it was only right that you should see him before that happens.

"We'll be meeting your father at Alphard's house in a couple of hours, so I want you washed up and dressed presentably. I've already told Regulus and he so kindly got all of your clothes together that you will need for the next couple of days."

Sirius absent-mindedly got up to take a bath. He was in shock. _How could Uncle Alphard be dying_ he thought as he trudged up the stairs _he always seemed like the type of person that could never die and always be there for you. This is impossible, not right, and unfair. The only Uncle I actually liked is dying so young._ These thoughts pervaded his mind even until he stood in front of the fireplace with Regulus and his mother ready to be flooed to Alphard's house.

Regulus went first, then Sirius, and finally Walburga. Sirius stepped out of the fireplace as he arrived and looked around the living room of his Uncle's estate.

"Don't dillydally," his mum said and dragged him upstairs by the arm, all the way to Alphard's bedroom.

Inside stood Cygnus Black with his wife Druella and their daughters, Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa who were next to the bed. His father though, was most definitely not there to meet them, not that Sirius minded of course. He thought Orion Black was much worse than his mum.

Alphard Black was lying in his sick bed with a paper white complex. His eyes were sunken in and so were his cheeks. He was horribly thin. He looked like a man who was going to die at any second. He also had a constant shiver because of the hypothermia.

"Oh, Walburga, it's great that you were able to come at such short notice as well. We're all so tired and Alphard looks terrible." Druella exclaimed her sister-in-law.

"Well, why don't we leave the children here to watch him and we can go have a cup of tea downstairs while we discuss certain matters about all of this." To Sirius going down and having a cup of tea while their brother was dying upstairs did not seem like a smashing idea, but all three adults agreed to it.

"Wait, mummy, daddy, I want to go too!" Bellatrix whined even though she was seventeen and the eldest out of the sisters. "I've been standing here watching Uncle Al breath for hours. I want to leave now."

"Me too, I don't like the smell, and I'm getting tired. Can I go too?" Narcissa joined in on the complaining.

"Oh, alright," Cygnus agreed "Andromeda, just behave."

"That goes for you as well Sirius," his mother warned.

With that they left the room, leaving Andromeda, Sirius, and Regulus alone with their Uncle Alphard.

"Are they gone yet?" a new voice strained to say. It was Alphard rising slowly to sit up on his bed.

"Yes, they're all gone uncle." Andromeda reassured him.

"Good, I couldn't stand those whiny girls any longer." Alphard managed to say between coughs. "Oh, and welcome Sirius, Regulus" he said as he turned towards them.

"How are you feeling Uncle Al?" Sirius as he moved closer to the side of his uncle's bed.

"Just fine, you don't need to bother about me. Tell me about all of the mayhem you have been causing for my dear old sister and that ratty house elf of hers."

With this Regulus and Sirius put on the same grin and began to tell him about the dungbombs they made and what Sirius did with them. They told him about the bleach they put in their mother's conditioner turning her precious black hair blonde. And of course Sirius explained in detail everything about his Christmas prank, which Alphard seemed quite happy with. By the end of their storytelling it was time for everyone to be heading off to bed. Andromeda led Regulus to his room, but Sirius was beckoned to stay by their uncle.

"Sirius, come here," Alphard waved his hand indicating for Sirius to come closer "you've always been my favourite out of my nephews and nieces. You have more personality than most Blacks, and that's why I want to give you two things before I pass away."

"Uncle, I'm sure you'll be fine. You'll be better in no time, you'll see." Sirius tried to reassure himself more than his uncle with that.

"I know I won't live for much longer with a weak heart like mine. Now I gave you one of the two things in my possession to you in my will. It will go directly to your account and cannot ever be touched by any other relative. I know it will upset your mother but she can't change it once I'm gone."

"What is it?"

"Ah, you'll just have to wait and see, won't you. Anyway, the second thing I want to give you is this necklace." And with that he reached behind his neck to unclasp the necklace he had just pointed to. "It was very… special to me. The love of my life gave it to me when I was seventeen and I haven't taken it off since."

He hand the necklace to Sirius who accepted it with a quiet thank you. Then he finally got a good look at it. It was just a simple gold chain made up of tiny balls. On each of the gold balls there was a single green ring around it. It had obviously been through a lot because the once shiny gold was dirty and the green was too. Sirius slipped it around his neck, making sure the clasp was on so it wouldn't fall.

"Uncle, who was the love of your life? Why did you never get married to her?" Sirius asked his uncle who looked as though he was trying to laugh.

"Sirius, there are many things you will have to learn about love. It just doesn't come from beautiful, pureblood, women. Love can be found in anyone regardless of who the person is. I just happened to fall in love with someone who was most definitely not someone a Black should marry." He told Sirius with a slight smile. He looked as though he was reminiscing far beyond Sirius's time.

"But,"

"No Sirius, I know you'll understand soon enough. Just take good care of the necklace for me, alright." Sirius could only nod at his uncle as he held on to the necklace around his neck protectively.

"Uncle, can I sleep with you tonight?"

"Sure thing, just pull up a chair and fall right asleep." Sirius did as he was told and pulled up the chair in the corner of the room up to his uncle's bed. He instantly fell asleep after days sleeping in the uncomfortable box in the attic.

* * *

Sirius couldn't even call it mourning when he woke up to the violent hacking noise that came from his uncle's throat. It was still dark and no one else was around. Uncle Alphard was having a coughing fit and Sirius wrapped his arms around him rubbing his back, trying to soothe him the best way an eight year-old could.

"Uncle Al, Uncle Al are you ok?" Sirius would question but he only received coughing as an answer.

Soon Andromeda and Walburga made their way into the room because they were the closest to Alphard's room. They both leaned over to help Alphard pushing Sirius out of the way. He didn't mind. He could still see him perfectly well, but he decided to move to the foot of the bed anyway. The coughing stopped after awhile but it definitely put strain on his body, especially his lungs.

As Uncle Alphard slowed down his coughing all of a sudden he dropped. Andromeda caught him and Walburga checked his pulse.

"He's just unconscious, don't worry for now." That comment was unnecessary for Sirius had felt as though he was about to have a heart attack.

"Sirius, Andromeda, you stay here while I alert everyone else." She turned so her back was facing the children and walked out the door.

"Come on Siri, it'll be okay. Just wait and see." Andromeda walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him in comfort. "Uncle Al's strong. Just wait, he'll be better in no time. You know how he always liked to make everything a bit more overdramatic than they really were." But even she couldn't fool herself with that.

They had been standing watching Uncle Alphard for ten minutes before Cygnus came into the room with a worried expression on. Walburga was close behind him with Druella. They all crowed around the bed as well, sitting anywhere they could find (the floor was far to beneath them to sit on that of course). They all sat there in silence for was seemed to be an hour when all of a sudden there was a sharp intake of breath from Alphard. Everyone turned their head to him and stared to see what would happen next. Nothing happened, not even his chest moved up and down.

"Uncle? Uncle Al? Uncle, are you alright?" Sirius tried to keep from acting hysterical, but he couldn't help it. Cygnus put two fingers to a blood vessel on Alphard's neck, and shook his head as if indicating there was no pulse left.

Everyone in the room was in shock. No one was crying but everyone was on the verge of it, even Walburga. Andromeda held on tighter to Sirius and began to cry. Sirius hugged her back trying hard not to cry himself, but the motives of an eight year-old were easily broken and he cried into his cousin's chest.

After a few minutes the initial shock died. Druella agreed to wake the children and inform them while Cygnus and Walburga look over the will. The siblings left to go find the will and the two children, now holding each other's hand, followed their relatives. They ended up in Alphard's study where the adults went over to his desk and retrieved an envelope lying on it. Cygnus picked up the letter and both adults went over to a leather couch that was in the centre of the room. The two children sat on a chair next to the couch waiting for either one of the parents to talk.

Walburga seemed to be turning a lovely tomato shade of red. Then she screamed to let her anger out.

"That BASTARD! How DARE he."

"Language sister," Cygnus reminded her and she remembered the children.

"He specifically went against my will and put it in his. He left all of his gold to you Sirius when I have banned you from receiving any inheritance. This is outrageous. I made sure every Black family member knew. And don't tell me he had it written down before because this was recent."

Cygnus handed the letter over to Sirius and Andromeda to read for themselves. Sirius didn't bother reading what everyone else received and just skipped down to himself.

_"To my dear nephew, Sirius Orion Black, son of Orion and Walburga Black, I leave half of my gold. The money is to be removed from my account immediately after my death and transferred into Sirius's. The money my never be touched by his family, only he is able to use it." _Sirius's face lit up as he remembered what his Uncle had told him the night before.

"Well, he didn't leave all of his gold to Sirius." Andromeda stated as she finished the letter "Only half, the other half is to go to me." She said this with a smile across her as she read over Sirius's shoulder as he sat on her lap.

"That's not the point! The point is that he did that on purpose!" Walburga had totally lost her temper and no one could reason with her.

Sirius didn't want to be a part of it so he left with Andromeda leaving the letter with the two adults. Just as they left Bellatrix, Narcissa, Regulus, and Druella came in with solemn expressions even though Sirius could tell all Bella and Cissy wanted to know was what they received from the will. Wouldn't they be in for a shock when they find out that Andromeda had received half the gold while they were left with Al's old pairs of socks.

* * *

It had been a few years since his death, three to be exact, but Sirius still hadn't gotten over it. He pranked the house less and less and now at the age of eleven he only pulled a prank when Andromeda was in the house. He had kept to his word and kept the chain on around his neck much to his mother's detest. But she also kept to her word and the minute they got home from the funeral Alphard Black's name and face were burnt off the family tree.

As Sirius ate his toast with marmalade for breakfast early in May that year, sitting opposite his mother and next to Regulus, an owl came through the window and landed in the middle of his plate. There was a letter attached to its leg addressed to him. His mother eyed him with those beady eyes of hers as he untied the letter and looked at the crest on it. It was from Hogwarts not much to his surprise. He was expecting it. He had been expecting it for years. Even so he couldn't suppress his joy as he read the letter inviting him to Hogwarts the next year.

"Finally, I thought you would never get your letter." Walburga told him but he didn't respond far too happy to talk to her.

He ran up into his bedroom and reread the letter. He would reread it a total of 1,903 times before he went to Diagon Alley to get his school supplies and then another 83 times after that. Who could blame him though? This was his only chance to escape the hellhole of his family.

* * *

**First off.** Thank You so much to Someone aka Me, The Cesar Legacy, and especially MilyMB! You all wrote such great comments. I hope it just keeps getting better! I would love to know what the anonymous review thing is though if someone would be kind enough to tell me.

**And now for a note from the wonderful author.** Hey every one of you who reads this but thinks it is cow manure, but I would like to address those who actually like it. So, I hope you enjoyed the second chapter. Yeah, Sirius has a horrible life as well. I mean, come on, what mother shuts their son in the attic? Anyway, be patient, the next chapter will be set, for the most part, on the train to Hogwarts. So, I say unto you in the words of my fore-fanfiction authors… DON'T BE LAZY! LEAVE ME A COMMENT. Please (see, I have manners).

Next chapter will be out soon. I promise.


	3. Parents Make the Story More Complicated

**Disclaimer. **I DO NOT own the wonderfully wizardly tale of Harry Potter. I only seek to put my charming twist on it. So Mrs. Rowling, don't get pissed at my amazing talent to think up a better gay couple than you. Oh, this means there will be a pairing in it later. A lovely Remus Lupin and Sirius Black one. Doesn't that sound yummy!

* * *

_Parents Make the Story More Complicated_

On the eve of September 1st Remus couldn't get to sleep. He just kept tossing and turning, thinking about going to Hogwarts. It was too exciting to go to sleep for. He would think that if he over slept he would miss the train down to King's Cross Station and then miss the Express. So he stayed away all night with Moppet happily sleeping next to him.

Really he envied his cat. She had no care in the world. No predators, to struggle for food, no family issues to worry about, no friends to make, as long as she had Remus she was content. So she got to lounge in bed, occasionally turning into a more comfortable position, while Remus fretted about his luggage and if he packed enough or over-packed or forgot to something. He checked is suitcase far more than twice for all of the essential items: clothes, textbooks, shoes, robes, quills, parchment, hairbrush, toothbrush, and anything else you could really pack into a bag. He made sure he had his ticket for the Underground the next mourning and that that was in a safe place. He checked up on Moppet a few times too just to make sure she was there and in sight. The only changes he could notice were that she had rolled over or stretched out a bit.

Moppet really was a lazy kitten, but who could blame her. She had nothing better to do because she wasn't allowed to go outside at night. So she followed her owner around all night: sleeping on him, sleeping next to him, sleeping on his face so her black fur would end up in his mouth, clawing at his bed, clawing at his pillow, meowing for food, meowing to go out. That was her routine every night. But this night was special for her. She got the bed all to herself and damn did she feel special. She just couldn't figure out though why her owner was so fidgety this night. There was a lovely warm bed covered in black fur (she thanks herself for that and thinks it just makes the bed look more comfortable) waiting for him to sleep in, and he would rather choose to fret around the room like a maniac. In her opinion he really needed to get his priorities straightened out. But then he did something she really wasn't expecting. He got up and left the room. In all of her curiosity Moppet followed her pajama clad owner out of the room, but she couldn't help look back at the bed she was leaving behind before she followed him out.

Remus heard Moppet jump off of the bed to follow him. He could hear her tiny footsteps behind him as he walked down the stairs and to the front door. He turned around and looked at the dingy living room slash kitchen. It wasn't much of both. There was an old wooden dining room table worn out from use with a few chairs around it. Behind that was a counter with a sink and room to chop food. Above the counter were some cabinets where his mother kept all of her liquor, drugs, and cups. There was some bread up there too, with fruit and jam and marmalade. On the other side of the room was a couch facing the fireplace and a small cabinet on the other side of the wall. His mother was asleep on the couch with a few cups of what looked like brandy and whiskey around her.

Remus turned back to the door and pushed it open so softly so as not to wake his mother. The last thing he needed right now was her angry at him. So he slipped outside with only the kitten to notice him.

Remus just wandered through the fields knowing exactly where he was off to. Moppet ran around him, pouncing on whatever thing, living or nonliving, came across her path. This was a dream to her so she might as well live it to the fullest.

Remus watched Moppet play as he watched his path at the same time. He had made it to the river where he had talked to Albus Dumbledore a couple of months ago. From there he walked along the riverbank which soon was shaded by trees. The air was cool and damp like the soil he was treading on and the sound of the river was calming. Moppet would occasionally bat the stream of water and then back away immediately. The path continued on like this until the trees began to part and scatter a little bit. Soon there were no trees left and just the river with grassland.

There Remus drifted off from the riverbank and across the now flat land. From there he came upon the foundation of a house. There were scorched planks of wood lying around and crumbling corners of brick walls managing to stand up. This desolate cement rectangle depicted the picture of a burnt down house.

Remus walked to the center and sat down. He could remember playing in this house with his only friend Janelle Miller. He had known for years, even before he became a werewolf. Now, I might as well tell the story of Remus and Janelle because it may be important later or you just might want to know.

When Remus was young, three years-old to be exact, his father put him in a preschool in London. There he met Janelle Miller. Janelle was a tomboy sort of girl. She liked playing with boys. She would take every opportunity she could to get into trouble doing something dangerous. Her cropped blonde wavy hair was always dirty and her lovely Sunday Church dresses were always torn and muddy. She met Remus the first day of preschool and they stayed friends throughout. They would sneak about pulling pranks on the other children. No one knew how they pulled off most of them. Some of them, no one knew it was them at all. For you see, not only was Remus a wizard but Janelle was a witch. Her parents were muggles, that's why she was in a muggle preschool, but her grandmum was a witch. So they got away with all of their pranks. Then Janelle moved out to the country when she turned five. This was a few months before Remus was bitten. Remus didn't talk to her for awhile after she moved, and then didn't have the chance while he was rehabilitating from the werewolf attack.

He did see her though when his mother was forced to move to a remote area. She knew where Janelle and her parents had moved to and so she moved not to far away. She was probably thinking that they might help look after Remus if she ever had to leave for the day. Well, after Remus got back from the hospital, he met up with Janelle again and they saw each other every day. Janelle was the only person Remus told about the wolf besides his mother. He trusted her and she trusted him with no prejudice against him. But really, how much prejudice could a six year-old child have? Neither of them went to school, Remus because of his condition and Janelle because she just didn't want to.

One day though, when they were nine in early summer they were walking back from their day of pretending to fish. They saw dark pillows of smoke in the air. At first they took no notice. Then they got closer and saw where they were coming from. It was Janelle's home that had caught on fire. Both of her parents had been trapped in the house as it burned. Their funeral was two weeks later. Janelle had no where to go. Eventually, her aunt and uncle decided to take her in and look after her. Sadly though for Remus, their house was in Chelsea, far far away from where Remus lived.

Remus hasn't seen Janelle since. He hasn't written to her. She hasn't written to him though either. All he has are photographs of her and him together. That was good enough for now though.

Remus sat in the pile of rubble for awhile as the crisp air brushed against his face, blowing his hair into his eyes. Moppet was having the time of her life as well, chasing everything in the maze of bricks and wood. Soon she wore her small body out and ran over to Remus trying not to trip over her own paws. She jumped up and curled onto Remus's lap just as the sun began to rise. To Moppet's disappointment her 'bed' took that as a sign to get ready to leave for the station.

He walked back down the same path, cradling the exhausted kitten not feeling the slightest bit tired himself. He opened his front door to find everything in the same place as he left it, including his mother. He checked the time: 5 o' clock. His train left at 7:30 am. It would take him at least an hour or two to get down to the station. So he decided to bring his luggage down stairs, get dressed, and get something for breakfast.

He sat in one of the rickety old wooden chairs to eat his breakfast. It wasn't much of a breakfast, just an apple and bread with jam. He was content though. This had been his breakfast and lunch for ages. Dinner was completely different though. He would eat an orange and toast with marmalade. Not much different to you maybe, but to Remus there was much of a difference.

Moppet decided to join the breakfast table as she spotted the strawberry jam. She jumped onto the table and stuck her mouth into the open jar of jam and began to eat. Remus didn't really care. It wasn't like he would be there to eat it again later that day. That fact just marveled Remus to such an extent. He finished his bread and jam and ate half of his apple. The rest he cut up and gave to Moppet. He also placed a bowl of water for Moppet to drink. Moppet lapped at the water while Remus checked all of his bags again. Knowing everything was fine and in place he went over to his mother. She already knew he was leaving and didn't put up much of a protest. In truth, she wanted him out of the house. So instead of waking her up he placed a pre-written noted next to her just saying goodbye.

It didn't take long for six o' clock to come. He decided to leave at that wheeling his trunk behind him and Moppets cat-carrier precariously balanced on top. There was a small dirt path leading from the back of the house out to the road. A bus station was there where he would be taken into the closest town. The bus came at 6:15 am. He paid the far and got on. Since he was so far out from the town it took an hour just to get down there. On the way many people began to board. Many odd people stared at him. Public transportation was definitely something strange and uncomfortable in Remus's opinion. Luckily no one could sit next to him because Moppet's cage was on that space.

After an hour on the bus, Remus got off at the town he was supposed to be in. Now, I would tell you the name of the town but it is too unknown, I don't even think the people who lived there knew its name. Anyway, Remus walked through the no name town looking at all of the shops and houses, looking for the time and the train station. The station wasn't too hard to find, and with it there was a clock which read 7:23 am. Seven minutes until his train left, so he decided to board it before it left. Remus walked down the dirty tunnels until he reached an opening. The platform was there, and two trains were parked on either side, one facing north and the other facing south. Both looked ready to leave so Remus pulled his trunk up to his train while balancing Moppet on top.

Once seated on the train with his bag put away and Moppet next to him he leaned against the windowpane and looked out at the unmoving scenery. He saw the people loading onto the train. He noticed they looked less rugged as they did on the bus. 'Thank God' he thought to himself.

Train left slightly later that scheduled but it left anyway. Remus knew it would take hours to get down to King's Cross, but all he could do was wait. So Remus could only look out at the country scenery and dream about Hogwarts to pass the time. Soon Remus fell into a much needed sleep.

He woke up hours later, 9:30 to be exact, and the train's next stop was Turnpike Lane. 'Good, I woke up just in time' Remus thought to himself. For you see, if Remus had stayed asleep and missed Turnpike Lane then he would have missed getting off and switching to the Piccadilly Line which would take him to King's Cross. He gathered up his belongings and stood up waiting for the train to stop. It did pull to a stop and the doors swung open. Remus pushed his way through the crowd as he got off with the trunk and Moppet.

There he walked through a few more tunnels and up and down some stairs until he reached his destination. There was the Piccadilly train about to leave the station for these trains came and left quickly but another would come about 15 minutes later. So Remus hurried onto the train and was forced to stand up because there were no seats left.

This journey was much shorter than before but still long. To keep himself awake he would count off the stops 'Manor House, Finsbury Park, Arsenal' and so on. By the time the train reached Caledonian Road it was 10 o' clock. 'Good, I have some time to find out where the bloody hell platform 9 and ¾'s is' Remus thought to himself as the woman's voice came out of the speaker.

"Next stop, King's Cross St. Pancras Station, you can connect to the Circle Line, Hammersmith & City Line, Metropolitan Line, Northern Line, and Victoria Line"

So Remus was let off and dragging his trunk and kitten behind him he set off to exit into in King's Cross. He entered just fine but now the problem was finding the platform.

'1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 but where's 9 and ¾'s' he thought as he crashed into a rather confused plump boy around his age. A rosy cheeked woman, presumably his mother followed.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry. Peter must have taken off in his excitement. Are you alright?" The woman asked checking both boys to see if there were any minor injuries.

"I'm fine mum! Please stop, you're embarrassing me." Peter told his mother as she checked him for bruises.

"I'm just being safe. Now, are you alright?" She turned her attention away from her whiny son and to Remus.

"I'm fine, don't worry. It was mostly my fault anyway; I can't seem to find my platform." Remus tried to reassure the woman.

"Well, if you're not hurt I would be glad to help you find your platform."

"Uh, you wouldn't happen to know where Platform 9 and ¾'s is. I looked everywhere for it and can't seem to find it." Remus noticed as he said this, her face lit up.

"Oh, so it's your first time too. Well, well, its Peter's too. You see, the platform just can't be out in broad daylight for any muggle to see now could it." Remus looked slightly confused but decided to continue to listen to her "The only way to get there is to go between the barrier of Platform 9 and 10."

"But, wouldn't you crash into the wall?" Remus asked in all of his naivety.

"Oh, dear, just watch Peter." She directed her attention towards her son again "Well go on, we'll meet you on the other side."

Peter looked downright scared though as he pushed his trolley towards the barrier between 9 and 10. He took a deep breath and held it. Then he squinted his eyes and ran. Soon the body of Peter disappeared behind the barrier. Remus looked amazed and couldn't help but gape like an idiot at the spot where Peter just was.

"Well then, go on," Peter mother slightly pushed Remus towards the barrier while she said this. And Remus, like Peter, took a deep breath and ran through the solid brick wall. To Remus's amazement he never collided with anything. Instead, when he opened his eyes he saw a totally different platform. There were giant fireplaces to the side where some families magically appearing in to come to the platform. There were a bunch of parents fussing over their child or children, kissing them goodbye or making sure they have all of their things for school. Telling them to write everyday and pay attention in class.

Remus looked around once more and then spotted the boy he had followed in. Apparently his mother had already come in without him noticing. So Remus decided to walk over and stay with them until it was time to go.

"Um, thanks, I would have probably been wandering around forever trying to find the platform." Remus thanked the older woman.

"Oh, no problem what so ever, but where are your parents? Shouldn't they be here to help you?" She asked a valid question that made Remus slightly laugh. 'My mother, come to help me' but obviously she did not know his situation so he decided to explain a little. In the way Dumbledore wanted it explained of course.

"Um, my father recently passed away and my mother is… ill"

"Oh, I'm so sorry for you," She tried to console but he just shook her off saying it was alright.

"Well, I'm Janine Pettigrew," she told him as she held out her hand, and before she could introduce her son he held out his hand and introduced himself.

"I'm Peter Pettigrew, nice to meet you." He said with a huge smile on his face. Remus shook both hands and decided it would only be polite if he were to introduce himself as well.

"I'm Remus Lupin, thank you again," was all he said still slightly in shock from the barrier and the fireplaces.

"Well, it's almost 11; you two better get yourselves onto the train." She said, and then beckoned Peter over to her side. She kissed him on the forehead and told him, "I love you, write every week, have an excellent time, make loads of friends, and do all of your work. Try not to get into trouble please." He agreed he would and then she let him go.

When they were finally on the train and his mother was well away, Peter spoke again. "Thank Merlin! I thought she would never leave me alone. I was beginning to worry if she would follow me to Hogwarts." He told his new friend as they walked through the scarlet train, trying to find a compartment.

"Well, at least your mother's here." Remus told him being cautious as to what he said, making sure nothing slips.

"Oh, right, sorry 'bout that mate," Peter flustered a bit.

"Naw, it's ok. Now let's try to find an open compartment." They walked farther down the train until they ran into a rather angry redhead and a confused greasy-haired boy following her.

"Lily, watch where you're going!" The greasy-haired boy tried to grab her before she ran into Peter.

"Oh, that's the second time today." Peter complained as he helped the girl up.

"I'm so sorry. I was just in a rush to get away from those two boys. They're disgusting!" the girl, apparently named Lily, apologized to Peter.

"No, its fine, I really should just get used to it," Peter reassured her.

"As long as you're alright, come on Sev, let's go." the redhead gestured towards her friend and they moved past them.

"I wonder what got her in such a tizzy. She seemed really angry." Peter said to Remus as they continued down.

"It looked like she had been crying too. Poor girl." Remus replied and Peter nodded in response.

They soon came across a compartment with only two dark-hair boys in it. It was the emptiest one so far so they decided to ask if they could sit there. Peter opened the door, lugging his trunk and frog behind him. Remus stood by the door way, not wanting to go in without permission.

"Can we sit here?" Peter asked with all the confidence he supposedly had.

"Well, I don't know. Not after the last two that were in here." The bespectacled boy said and looked toward the other boy.

"Yeah, they were annoying. Especially that boy, I couldn't even guess the last time he had a shower." This boy was different in way from the messy-haired boy. This boy had a noble air to him. He carried himself with high confidence and pride.

"Come on Peter, let's just leave." Remus was ready to turn away when the noble looking one spoke.

"No, its fine, isn't it James. You can stay." James nodded and Peter and Remus thanked both of them putting their bags away and sitting down. Remus refused to put Moppet up there though so he kept her on his lap.

"Oh, there's my mum. Why does she have to follow me everywhere?" Peter complained when he saw his mother outside of the window.

"Oh, my mum's there too. Don't worry, all mums do that. See, there's mine waving like a maniac." James told Peter.

"Not my mum, she'd never do that." The noble boy with no name yet said quietly.

"Don't worry about her Sirius." James told him, trying to make him feel better. "Hey you," he was talking to Remus this time "Where's your mother overwhelming you with hugs and kisses, making sure you'll write and eat well?" Now Remus couldn't help but laugh. Just the thought of his mother hugging him was funny. So he laughed involuntarily at James who only looked confused.

"You loon, I asked a simple question. Well the hell are you laughing!" James was angry at Remus now and giving him a nasty look. Sirius was giving him the same look as well. Remus really didn't know how to explain it. He didn't want to tell them that his mother was a drunkard who didn't give a damn about his wellbeing. So he hung his head, staring at his feet until Peter spoke up.

"Come on Remus, let's leave. That girl was right, they are disgusting." Peter said as he collected his belongings. Remus could only nod as he got his trunk as well and they left the two alone in the compartment.

* * *

They found an empty compartment a few doors down so they didn't have to move that far on the now moving train. They settled into a comfortable silence and Peter made in a point not to mention James and Sirius. Although, he did let a few horrid words pass his lips as he left those two. Remus didn't take any notice though.

The two passed the time discussing random topics that just popped up from nowhere really. They talked about Hogwarts and their classes, which house they wanted to be sorted into, chocolate frogs, the stickers that coated the Peter's rat cage, Moppet, the giant gamekeeper Hagrid, and many other topics that never quite related to each other. By the time the train pulled into the station both boys were in stitches, laughing so hard at some joke Peter made about his rat.

As the train came to a rather abrupt halt at the station, compartment doors started to open and the passengers started to exit into the halls of the train waiting to get off. Remus in turn got up and grabbed Moppet and the rest of his things and followed Peter off down the aisle. The moment he jumped of the steps onto the station he was swept into the crowd of chatty students.

Suddenly a deep familiar voice shook through the crowds. "ALL FIRST YEARS TO THE BOATS, EVERYONE ELSE TO THE CARRIAGES!" the voice bellowed. Remus jumped up to look over the heads of everyone taller than him to find Hagrid talking. Remus maneuvered through the crowd where thought he was supposed to go. He managed to make it out of the larger crowd and found Peter following a smaller group of students. About 40 just to estimate.

"Remus, there you are! I lost you in the crowd." Peter said wearing a goofy grin that spread right across his face. "Isn't this amazing?! Oh, I can't wait. Look over there Remus. The carriages are pulling themselves!" Peter pointed over to the first group of students being pulled away on the carriages. Remus looked in the direction that Peter was pointing to. But instead of seeing a gap of nothing at the head of the carriage there was a black skeletal horse with glazed white eyes. And in all reality, it didn't even look like the skeleton of a horse because of the wing protruding from his back. Remus paled at the sight.

"W-what is that?" he said stepped back slightly from the black creature.

"A carriage, it's just a carriage Remus. What's wrong?"

"Can't you see that? Pulling the carriage. It's a skeleton thing." Peter just shook his head and told Remus that there was nothing there. This put him at a loss for words. There was something there, he could see it.

"Hey look, the loon from the train's preaching about something that doesn't even exist!" Remus turned around to find that boy James standing behind him with Sirius close behind. Sirius look far less amused than James, or any one else around them that had herd his joke. In all honesty, he looked slightly disturbed. But Remus' thoughts were broken as Peter tugged at his robe, signaling for them to go to the boats. Everyone seemed to take that as their signal to go to the boats as well. Remus lost Peter in the crowd again so he decided to stay away until every one else was in a boat. It would be easier to find Peter that way and stay away from James.

There was a slight tap on Remus's shoulder that made him turn around. He was half expecting to see Peter standing there, but he wasn't surprised to find it wasn't. Instead, he was surprised to find Sirius standing behind him. He was looking towards the ground fiddling with his sleeves.

"Sorry 'bout James. He can't see them. I wouldn't be shocked to find out we're the only students who can." Sirius whispered, never once meeting Remus's eyes. "They're Thestrals. Harmless really, but some people think they're bad luck. They aren't though." At the end of that sentence he finally looked up from the ground. "Just thought you might like to know you're not crazy."

"Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better" Remus replied sounding a bit more sarcastic than he had hoped, "but why can only we see them and none of them?"

"Because Thestrals can only be seen by those who have seen death" Sirius stated and walked towards the boat that James and two others were sitting in. Leaving Remus to who venture off towards Peter's boat seconds later, head filling with questions.

* * *

**And now for a note from the wonderful author.** Hey every one of you who reads this but thinks it is cow manure, but I would like to address those who actually like it. So, I hope you found this chapter bearable. Interpret the title in whatever way you wish to. I have no idea how I thought of it. Now both Remus and Sirius have met and James thinks Remus is insane. I made Peter a nice person because so many people bash him. I know he grew up to be an accomplice for a psycho killer but I think he was nice at some point. Or else James and Sirius wouldn't have trusted him enough to be the secret secret-keeper. Any way, now Remus and Sirius are both thinking about death and it will get interesting. Sorry it took so long though for this chapter to come out. I haven't had my computer for weeks, plus I have tennis camp. So, I say unto you in the words of my fore-fanfiction authors… DON'T BE LAZY! LEAVE ME A COMMENT. Please (see, I have manners).

I can't promise the next one to come out soon, though I hope it does.


	4. Sorting Brings Out the Worst in People

**Disclaimer. **I DO NOT own the wonderfully wizardly tale of Harry Potter. I only seek to put my charming twist on it. So Mrs. Rowling, don't get pissed at my amazing talent to think up a better gay couple than you. Oh, this means there will be a pairing in it later. A lovely Remus Lupin and Sirius Black one. Doesn't that sound yummy!

* * *

_Sorting Brings Out the Worst in People_

The boats, carrying overwhelmed first years, slowly pulled their own way through the lake. Most of the students were in deep conversation about their classes and what their teachers may be like, but not Sirius Black. No, right now he was deep in thought about 'the loon', as James had christened him, more rightly known as Remus. It was easy to think that this unreasonable small boy had seen death, but just who had he seen die. Was it related to why he laughed at James on the train? Or was Remus really driven insane by whoever he saw die? Or maybe he was abducted and forced to kill someone. This is where Sirius lost all trace of reasonable and rational thoughts. He started to imagine aliens and abductions making him grin at the insanity of his own mind.

"Sirius… Sirius… hello Sirius, are you still there?" a hand waving in front of his face and the voice brought him out of the abduction sequence going on in his head. He blinked a few times and realized it was James. Really, who else would it have been though?

"I'm still here James, what d' ya want?" he groggily replied. He was quite enjoying his alien story and was quite upset when it was abruptly stopped.

"We're here, now get out of the boat you lazy bugger." James said playfully. Sirius looked around and realized that the boat had indeed stopped and everyone in the boat was waiting for him to exit. So he climbed out of the boat, followed closely by James and the other two who were in the boat.

"All right, everyone 'ere?" the giant gamekeeper asked, and there was a slight murmur of yeses going around the crowd in response. "Good, now just follow me to the doors and Professor McGonagall will take it from there." All of the overly-exited first years obeyed the giant, but Hagrid obviously did not realize how much farther his huge legs could take him in such little time. So, all of the short legged children were running after him, not caring if they crashed into each other or ran someone over.

"This is amazing isn't it? The castle's just so huge. How in Merlin's name do you think were going to make it all our classes on time. I hope they give up a map." James said in awe as he looked up at the heights of the school.

"I wonder if there are any secret passageways. Those could be interesting, huh James."

"That could be very interesting. I heard there are hundreds throughout the whole castle." James said with a smirk on to match Sirius's. "Oh, did you hear of the Whomping Willow? It was just planted this year. I wonder if there's anything interesting about it."

"Who know, but he can't go near it. The branches will crush us before we have a chance to even get close enough to touch it."

"Well I don't want to die so let's just keep away from it."

"Ingenious plan," Sirius replied, quietly laughing. The distraction of laughing caused him to crash into a stationary person in front of him. He was about to ask why she had stopped when he noticed that they were in a hallway with a giant door facing them. Obviously the entrance to the Great Hall but still it was amazing. There was also a woman standing in front of the doors no older than 35.

"Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am Professor Minerva McGonagall. In just a moment the start-of-term banquet with begin. Before that though, all of you must be sorted into the appropriate house, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. This is an extremely important tradition at Hogwarts because for the seven years you are here, your house will be like your family. All your classes will be with your house. You will be living in your house dormitory. And spare time can be spent in your house common room. You will also be attempting to win the house cup at the end of the year. For all of your triumphs you will be rewarded points, but points can also be taken away for any sort of rule-breaking activities. Whichever house has the most points by the end of the school-year wins.

"Now, after you are sorted you are to go to your house's table and wait until the sorting is finished. The Sorting Ceremony will begin in a few minutes. Oh, and I suggest you smarten yourselves up because it is taking place in front of the entire school." Some nods were cast across the crowd, and when the professor assumed every one knew what was going on she spoke again.

"I shall be back when we are all ready to begin. Please do not make any unnecessary noise while I am gone." With that she left the group of first years in the hall to wait.

"How do they sort us? Is it some sort of test or quiz?" a rather short pudgy girl asked.

"Yeah, we're gonna have to face a banshee in there." James told her easily lying.

"It's a big one too, that won't stop whining." Sirius continued on with the lie, all the time knowing the girl was growing more and more pale.

"Your house is determined by how you get rid of it. And if you fail completely they send you back home." James said triumphantly as he completed his lie. As he looked around he saw many people growing more scared by the second.

"Really… is that really what happens?" another boy next to her asked.

"Of course not, that's just ridiculous!" This statement came from neither James nor Sirius (why would they ruin their own joke), instead it the red-head from the train said it with the greasy-haired boy agreeing with her. "I read in _Hogwarts; A History _that a hat sorted us."

"A hat! Now that's ridiculous." James laughed at her with Sirius and some other students joining in.

"Laugh now, but it's true! It's called the Sorting Hat and it can read your mind so it knows where to sort you." the Lily told everyone around her.

"A hat that can read your mind, hah now that's funny," Sirius laughed along with James, "but I think she's serious. Wow, I can't wait to see this mind-reading hat."

"Hn, you'll see it in a few minutes. Don't worry." Severus boy spoke that time.

"Sure, whatever, but didn't that professor just tell us to look presentable. Maybe you'd like to take a shower and wash that greasy hair of yours. I think I can see greasy dripping from the ends it." Everyone laughed at James's joke this time, except for Severus, Lily, Remus, and Peter.

"Come on Sev, let's get away from them. They just want to cause trouble." Severus decided to move to the back of the crowd with Lily, but he couldn't help but look back at James and Sirius first and sneer at them.

"They're horrible," someone whispered under their breath as everyone else began to speak again.

"You've got that right," an equally low whisper followed "that kid there, Sirius, he's a Black, no wonder he has no manners."

"A Black? What's that?"

"A pureblood family, they hate anyone who's different then them."

"He talked to me before we went on the boats. He didn't seem as horrible then."

"You talked to him!"

"Really, he was just trying to help."

"Sure, watch, at dinner he'll probably dump pudding on you just for a laugh."

"He's only acting that way because he's trying to fit in with his friend, in my opinion."

"You're trying to defend him!"

"No, I know he has control over his own actions. And how he treated those two wasn't right, but he's never done anything terrible to me so I can't really be against him. It's that kid James who I'm against."

"I don't like either,"

Sirius may have been far away from their conversation, and they may have been speaking in hushed tones, but he could still hear Remus and Peter, maybe not every word, but enough to pick-up on the topic. He felt terrible now. He knew he shouldn't have made fun of Lily because he knew she was right. His mother had mentioned the Sorting Hat and how it will search through his mind to know he's a Black and that he belongs in Slytherin. That scared him to the bone.

At that last thought, Professor McGonagall walked back into the hall they were in.

"We're ready, now form into a line," she told them "and follow me."

No one dared to disobey her, so they all scurried into a frantic single-file line. As they walked down the aisle in the middle of the Great Hall they were all in awe. The ceiling was what caught mostly everyone's attention. It was the same midnight blue as the sky outside with the same sparkling stars too.

As the first-years came to the front of the hall they saw an old dusty hat perched on top of rickety three legged wooden stool. As they began to line up in the front you could hear whispers saying, "So it is a hat that sorts us," or "That girl was right, wow." At these comments Lily looked down the line of students, found James and Sirius, and stuck her tongue out at them, making James very miff.

"Hn, she thinks she knows everything. I hate people like that." James mumbled under his breath. Sirius just tried to ignore him as the hat had already sung some song and he missed it. Professor McGonagall had now started to call out names to be sorted.

"Andrews, Reese!" A brown-haired boy stepped out of the line and sat on the surprisingly sturdy stool. McGonagall placed the hat on his head. Reese gripped the bottom of the stool until the hat called out "RAVENCLAW!"

The Ravenclaw students all cheered as Reese stepped down from the stool and went over to an empty spot at his house table.

"Beckett, Wesley!" A freckled boy with messy blonde hair stepped from the crowd and moved onto the wooden stool. "HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat spoke and there was a roar from the Hufflepuff table.

"Black, Sirius!" Sirius felt his stomach drop and a wave of nerves came over him. _What if I am put in Slytherin? What friends will I make there? But if I'm put in Gryffindor or any other house my mum will skin me alive._ Sirius' woes were cut short as James nudged him to go forward. _I can't act like a coward now. _He reassured himself and walked up to the chair showing no nerves at all. McGonagall placed the over-sized hat on his head. Almost instantly he heard a raspy voice he hoped only he could hear.

"_Bah, another Black! But you aren't like the rest of them are you? You seem…different. More loyal than any of them will ever be. Definitely as arrogant but that can change. You can care, yes; you just don't like to show it. Hmmm, I know exactly where you belong!" _Then a loud voice came out that Sirius knew everyone could hear "GRYFFINDOR!" A sigh of relief came from Sirius's mouth as the Gryffindor table began to cheer. In his head, he whispered a slight 'thank you' to the Sorting Hat. He swore he heard it reply 'it fits you better than Slytherin' before the hat was removed. Sirius walked down to the table to wait for James to be sorted.

"Chasin, Christina!" A rather tall girl with short brown hair and freckles stepped up. She was sorted into Gryffindor as well. She sat next to Sirius who was sporting the same goofy grin as she was.

"Clarkson, Jeremy!" This boy was also tall and he had wavy blonde hair. He was sorted into "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Durkin, Thomas!" was the next to go up. He was sorted into Slytherin, along with the next girl "Elks, Sarah".

"Evans, Lily!" the red-head stepped up with so much confidence it seemed unreal. A few seconds passed before the hat shouted out "GRYFFINDOR!" Everyone around him cheered while he saw her pass by Severus and whisper something. Then she came to sit next to Christina, who became a quick friend.

Nothing else really special happened after that except for a girl, Alice, who joined the Gryffindor table as well. She sat across from Christina and Lily, and all three were now in a deep conversation about an article in Witch Weekly.

"Lupin, Remus!" This caught Sirius's attention immediately and he looked up. He saw the small boy shuffle up to the stool. The hat was placed on his head almost engulfing it completely. The hat may have looked big on Sirius but compared to Remus it was looked big enough to fit an elephant.

After a few delayed seconds, the hat looked ready to speak. "GRYFFINDOR!" it called. _"Gryffindor, he definitely doesn't seem like the type of kid who is brave. Maybe the hat made a mistake. Or maybe there was no other house to put him in."_ Sirius stopped thinking as the pale boy sat next to Alice.

Lily immediately noticed him and brought him into their conversation as well. He smiled slightly with a bit of relief but told them that he doesn't read the girl's magazine. All three girls laughed, probably at how silly they had been to assume he read Witch Weekly.

Sirius tried to draw his attention away from him, but he found Remus taking his interest too much. There was just something captivating about him. There must've also been something about him that got him into Gryffindor. Sirius was stumped but then he saw Remus look up to McGonagall as she called the names.

"Pettigrew, Peter!" The chubby boy walked up to the stool and looked down to Remus, who gave him a reassuring smile. "GRYFFINDOR!" the hat called and there was a roar from the table. Peter went to go sit next to Remus who introduced him to the three girls.

"Potter, James!" was the next name called. Sirius saw his bespectacled friend walk casually up to the stool. Almost the second the hat was placed on his head it called out "GRYFFINDOR!" Sirius actually cheered this time as his friend made his way down the table and sat next him.

"I knew it; I knew we'd both make it into the same house." James told Sirius. James was greeted by sneers from the three girls. Obviously Christina and Alice wanted to defend their new friend. James just shrugged them off.

"At least the hat put us in the right house. I mean, what was it thinking when he put the loon and his friend in. They don't have an ounce of bravery between the both of 'em huh Sirius." James said directing his question towards Remus and Peter more than Sirius.

"Oh, shut up will you! You don't radiate loyalty in my opinion." Peter snapped back.

"Peter, don't get into an argument. He's not worth it. The more you argue the more fuel you're giving him to continue." Remus told Peter in a quiet voice.

"I'm glad that someone here knows how to stop an argument. Trust me, I'd just continue the fight." Christina said to Remus, and Alice and Lily nodded their head in agreement.

"Yeah, try not to start another fight today James." Sirius said wanting James to know that he didn't like the fights either.

James looked like he was about to fight back but decided against it with an "Hn, alright."

The last couple students were being put into their house. There was "Reynolds, Hugh" who was sorted into Slytherin, "Rogers, Hammond and Tyson" who were twins sorted into Ravenclaw, "Snape, Severus" who got his wish and was sorted into Slytherin, "Stump, Kaleigh" who was sorted into Gryffindor, "Tucker, Michelle" who was sorted into Slytherin, "Terence, Madeline" who was sorted into Ravenclaw, and "Zhong, Lo" who was sorted into Slytherin.

At that, Albus Dumbledore got up to speak. "Welcome students to a new school year. Now I am a man of very few words. Those words include lemon drops and chocolate frogs. Now, let the banquet begin. Thank you."

Every one began to cheer and clap at the speech. Dumbledore went back to sit down and food appeared on the table.

"He's a real genius isn't he? A bit mad, but a genius." Sirius said to James.

"I don't even think he's insane, just brilliant. Now, let's eat." James replied as he reached for the potatoes and the turkey at the same time.

"Ow," Sirius heard and turned his head to find Remus shaking his hand through the air. There was a burn mark on his hand from what he could see.

"Remus, are you alright? What happened?" Peter asked hurriedly.

"I'm fine. I just burned my hand a bit. The serving spoon was just a little hot. That's all." Remus told Peter. Peter nodded and went back to scooping food onto his plate.

"Be careful in future, silver can get pretty hot you know." Remus visibly shuddered when Peter mentioned something in that sentence. Sirius just couldn't figure out what.

"_Remus was lying."_ Sirius thought _"The spoons aren't even hot. What happened? And why did he shudder like that? Something is odd about him and I will find out." _

"So, Sirius," James managed to say speaking between bites or chicken, turkey, and beef "what should we do first? We have all weekend to become used to the castle. I think we should pull a prank or something."

"I'm not sure. I need to look around the castle or I'll probably get lost." Sirius responded while eating potatoes and corn.

"You're right, but we will also come up with a prank. We can't let school become only studying and essays." Both boys agreed that they'd never let that happen. Then they both ate in silence. They had many things to talk about though. There was just too much food to stuff into their faces. Especially when dessert came, there were mountains of ice cream and chocolate logs and many cakes.

"That's so disgusting. Pigs." Both boys looked up. They had heard a girl's voice but now all four girls (Kaleigh had joined them) and Remus and Peter were laughing.

"Don't try and argue. We don't want to see your chewed-up food." Alice told them.

"Yeah, we prefer how it looks on the plate." Christina said next. All six of them were laughing so hard at the Sirius and James that they barely noticed the food disappear and Dumbledore get up to speak again. He put a hand up and all of the students went quiet.

"Now, I have a few more words to say now that everyone lacks hunger or thirst. I have some start-of-term notices to give to you.

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all students.

"No magic should be used in the corridors between classes, our caretaker Mr. Filch will be sure to keep an eye out for people who do.

"Quidditch trials will be held the second week of the term. Anyone who is interesting in playing for their house should contact Madame Hooch.

"And finally, there has been a Whomping Willow planted on the grounds this year as some of you may have noticed. I'm sure it will make a marvelous addition to our grounds. Just take heed to my advice in keeping away from it. If you get too close it will... attack. If you get crushed by one of its branches you could possibly die." There were slight murmurs at the mention of death but the quickly deceased as Dumbledore spoke again.

"Now, everyone pick any tune you wish and join in singing the school's song."

The words to the song appeared in the air above Dumbledore for everyone to see. Dumbledore was the first to start singing in his own jolly tune. Then slowly everyone else joined in. Sirius tried to join in but he couldn't help but stare at Remus again. The boy was covering his ears and cringing. _"It may be loud and screechy, but it's really not that bad. He may have over sensitive ears though. Really, I should stop thinking about him. It's verging on obsession and I've just met him." _Sirius reasoned with himself, but his other half couldn't help but argue _"But he's just so interesting. There's so much about him that's odd."_ And with that his other side stated _"that's true."_

"Oh, I'm so confused." He muttered to himself and with all the noise around him it was blocked out into nothing audible.

"Confused about what?" Well, Remus was an exception. The amber-eyed boy stared at him, still holding his hands to his ears to block out the noise.

"What, nothing." Sirius replied quickly, just before the remaining singers ended the song.

"Alright then," Remus could now tell the song was over and done with so he withdrew his hands from his ears.

"What an interesting song. I love it! Wasn't that great Sirius?" James exclaimed to his less exuberant friend. Sirius was still in a trance. _"How did he hear what I said? Its impossible." _were the thoughts running over and over through his head.

"Yeah, it was great." he managed to say in a dull, impartial voice.

"Now everyone, off to bed." Dumbledore's last words were before the prefects and head-boys/girls got up from their tables, ushering the first years of their house to follow them.

"Come on Sirius. Let's go unless we want to get lost." James said as he got up from the table and followed the prefect from Gryffindor. Sirius decided to get up as well and follow James.

As they made their way up to the Gryffindor common room, they had to climb up moving staircases and they met some of the ghosts.

"Looky here, its ickle first years afraid of climbing the stairs. Hehehehehe! How fun this year will be. You know one misstep on that and you'll go tumbling down and hit the ground with a great SPLAT!" A ghost cried out as he circled around the children on the stairs.

"That's just Peeves the Poltergeist. Don't pay any attention to him. He just likes to cause trouble." The prefect told them making a few faces calm down.

"Don't ruin the fun Tessa, I was just beginning. I didn't interrupt dinner, you should be thankful enough to let me tease them now." The jolly Poltergeist was no longer rhyming as his fun came to a close.

Sirius and James wanted to take their attention away from the ghost, so they turned to a portrait of an old man.

"Hi! Who are you? I'm James Potter and this is Sirius Black." James spoke to the moving painting.

"A BLACK! But you're on your way to the Gryffindor common room. Shouldn't you be in Slytherin going down to the dungeons?" the still unnamed old man said in a shocked manner.

"Nope, I'm in Gryffindor. I broke the tradition." Sirius said rather proudly.

"I should go tell Phineas at once!" With that the portrait of the old man left his frame to find the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black in the headmaster's office.

"Phineas, who's that, some relative of yours?" James asked Sirius.

"Yeah," Sirius moaned "he has a frame for his portrait here and at Grimmauld Place. Once he finds out, my mother finds out. I should be expecting a Howler tomorrow. On my second day at Hogwarts too." Sirius hung his head as he continued to walk.

"She wouldn't really send you a Howler just because you got into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin. That's just insane!" James asked.

"Oh, that's not the least of my worries. When I get home next summer I'll be expecting hell served to me on a silver platter." James looked shocked, flabbergasted, horrified. That wasn't what Sirius was paying attention to though. He was, once again, paying attention to Remus who was walking in front of them. Sirius swore he saw Remus shudder when he mentioned silver. Then Sirius remembered when he did the same thing when Peter had told him that silver gets hot easily. _"I'm really going paranoid and verging on obsession. I mean, I bet it's just a coincidence. It is strange though." _

"Really, she'll do worse to you than just send you a Howler?" James asked in horror successfully bring Sirius out of his Remus-induced trace again.

"What…oh, yeah, a lot worse. She's a real nutcase my mother, but I don't have to worry about her until summer. Thank Merlin!" Sirius said a little dazed at the beginning as he came back into reality.

"Wow," was all James could say as they made their way up to the common room.

The small group soon came to a stop outside of a painting of a Fat Lady in a pink silk dress.

"PASSWORD?!" the Fat Lady asked and she looked down at the new students.

"Billywig," Tessa replied. Then she turned to the first years and said "Every time you need to enter you will be asked for the password. If you forget it you will have to wait until someone else comes or you remember it. The password changes every semester just so you know. And if you didn't hear, the password is billywig. Now follow me inside."

They all followed her into the common room which was draped in Gryffindor banners and had gold and red painted all over the place. There was a fireplace in the corner of the circular room, squishy armchairs, and a long desk. It was a very welcoming, cozy room.

"All first year boys, you will go up the staircase on the left and find your dorm to be the first door on the right. Girls, you will go up the right staircase and find your dorm to be the first door on the left. If you need any help just ask me or any other prefect. Oh, and boys, I advise you not to try and go up the girls staircase." Tessa said the last sentence with a smirk and she was off to her own dorm room with all of the girls following behind her.

"Well let's go find our room ok. It looks like you need some sleep." James commented to Sirius and they both took off for their dorm.

They reached the top of the stairs to find a corridor with seven doors, three on each side and one right down at the end of the hall.

The two boys opened their door to find all of their trunks already on their designated beds. The room was round and filled with four four-poster beds and tall windows.

"This is much nicer than what I've heard the Slytherin rooms look like." Sirius said as he sat down onto his bed.

"I bet anything looks nicer than what the Slytherin rooms look like." James responded as he sat down on his own bed across from Sirius's.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Sirius said a couple seconds before he heard footsteps coming up. Remus emerged from the staircase along with Peter. They were laughing about something, Sirius just didn't know what.

Remus walked straight to his bed, which was next to Sirius's, completely ignoring the two other boys. Whereas Peter, as he walked to his bed next to James's, snarled a little at the two of them as he walked by.

"Lights turn off at ten. That's in about ten minutes. We should get ready for bed Remus." Peter said as he gathered his pajamas and toiletries to head to the bathroom.

"Yeah, you go first. I'll change in a bit. I just to do something first." Remus told Peter.

"Sirius, I'm gonna go ahead and change too." James said as he hopped off his bed and started rummaging through is suitcase for pajamas.

"Alright, I'll go when there are less people in there." Sirius said as James headed in the same direction as Peter.

Both Sirius and Remus were alone now in dead silence. Sirius watched as Remus dug through his belongings obviously trying to find something. Remus ended up pulling out a bottle with a white cream contained inside. He squeezed some onto the hand he had burned and rubbed in the cream. Then he wrapped up his hand with what looked like cloth in Sirius's opinion and put the cream away. Remus, who could feel the other boy staring, looked up at Sirius.

"It's cream for burns. I burnt my hand on one of those spoons. I should have been more careful I guess." Remus smiled at Sirius, then grabbed his clothes and headed to the bathroom.

"_He wasn't lying that time. I sounded to natural for him to be lying. How odd. Remus definitely is hiding something and I will find out what it is, and no matter what James thinks."_ Sirius thought with determination as he undressed for bed. Really, no one was there to see him because everyone was in the bathroom. And it wouldn't matter if they saw anything. They were going to be roommates for the next seven years. They're bound to see something at some point.

So Sirius was the first in bed and by the time everyone had exited from the bathroom he was asleep. Of course he forgot to brush his teeth but he didn't really mind. It was better than waking up and thinking about the Howler he was going to receive in the mourning.

* * *

**First off.** I would love to thank BLAHBLOT, MilyMB, Someone aka Me, and dristi who write such wonderful comments. I would write back but I'm lazy and busy. Sorry I have such horrid morals.

**And now for a note from the wonderful author.** Hey every one of you who reads this but thinks it is cow manure, but I would like to address those who actually like it. I hope you found this chapter up to my usually appalling standards. I'd appreciate it if you did; maybe you even thought it was above my appalling standards. Now, down to business, I know there weren't many words in this but there was a lot more dialogue which is more fun to write. And here on my word document there are 12 pages, higher than my usual standard. So I'm proud. For this chapter I had to revert to the first book for the whole sorting scene. I hope I was up to par with the book. The title of the chapter, in my opinion is referring to all of James' arguments, and how he'll get nicer as the story progresses. Writing all of the fights between James and whoever he was arguing with was fun. But what was more fun was writing Sirius's Remus-entranced thoughts. Those were great fun for to write and they came the easiest. Any who, I have a little game to play here. As you may have noticed, there were a lot of made up names in this chapter. I did, however, add in the name of a fairly famous person and I added my last name. I want you tell me who the famous person is and guess what my last name is. If you get it right, you get the satisfaction of getting it right. If you get it wrong you will get the satisfaction of me telling you the right answer. If you don't guess at all you'll be plagued for the rest of your life with this question because you will never know the answer. So, I say unto you in the words of my fore-fanfiction authors… DON'T BE LAZY! LEAVE ME A COMMENT. Please (see, I have manners).

See, I did update quicker this time, but I can't be sure when the next chapter's coming out. My school starts on Friday and I need to concentrate. But it will come out before September 15th. I swear. (Don't ask why I chose the 15th, the date just popped into my head)


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